The nation's economy added 114,000 jobs in the month of September, pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent in August.

The health care, transportation, and warehousing industries added the most jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Young people are having a more difficult time finding work relative to older Americans. For adult men and women, the unemployment rate is 7.3 percent and 7.0 percent respectively; for teenagers, the rate is 23.7 percent.

The unemployment rate varies by race as well, at 4.8 percent for Asians, 7.0 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 9.9 percent for Hispanics, and 13.4 percent for blacks, according to BLS data.

The BLS only counts those who are looking for work but cannot find it as unemployed; thus, the unemployment rate can go down simply when Americans stop looking for jobs. But in September, the employment-to-population ratio actually increased by 0.4 percentage points, meaning employment grew relative to the entire population, not just those seeking jobs.

Through nine months, employment has expanded by an average of 146,000 jobs a month in 2012. In 2011, employment grew by 153,000 jobs a month on average.

The average hourly wage for an American worker is $23.58, up 1.8 percent over the past 12 months.